AITA requests ITF for Ankita Raina to get a continental berth at Tokyo Olympics as no Indian singles players qualify based on rankings cut-off 

India's representation in the tennis singles event at next month's Tokyo Olympics now rests on the hope that Ankita Raina will get the Asian Continental Qualification quota place, according to the Press Trust of India. Raina has already been selected to partner Sania Mirza in the ladies doubles event in Tokyo.

Unfortunately, Raina was ranked No. 181 (this week No. 182) in the singles rankings for the week of June 14, 2021, the cut-off date for the rankings to be used to determine the Tokyo Olympics field.

With Sumit Nagal heading the Indian list in the men's side at No. 144, the chances for a direct singles entry had always been slim-to-none for the Indian squad.

Hello tennis fans, I can confirm that sadly none of our singles players will be able to make it to the Olympic Games. The cut-off fell at 105.So even after withdrawals, our guys Sumit Nagal (144) and Prajnesh (148) are not in contention.Hope alive for Rohan-Divij.#Tokyo2020

— Amanpreet Singh (@amanthejourno) June 26, 2021

The gold medallist at the 2018 Asian Games, Wang Qiang, and the silver medallist, Zhang Shuai, have already qualified for the women's singles draw in Tokyo on the strength of their world ranking.

Criteria which would allow Raina to be given a continental quota for the Tokyo Olympics

Based on that, the All India Tennis Association has written to the International Tennis Federation asking for the Asian Continental qualification place to be given to Raina, who won a bronze at the 2018 Asian Games.

Raina is currently the No. 1 ranked Indian player in the women's rankings. That is also an argument in favor of the Ahmedabad-born player to be given a Continental qualification place.

According to the ITF website, there are 56 direct acceptances to the singles draw at the Tokyo Olympics based on the ATP/WTA rankings as of June 14, with a maximum of four per nation in each draw.

This is contingent on players meeting other criteria, such as playing a certain number of Davis Cup/Fed Cup ties and being nominated by their National Association. It remains to be seen if Raina will fulfill the criteria for the Davis Cup/Fed Cup ties, considering she has played a total of 5 matches since 2020.

Rohan Bopanna and Divij Sharan remain uncertain of a Tokyo Olympics berth

Rohan Bopanna during the Singapore Tennis Open at the OCBC Arena in February 2021 in Singapore

According to the report, the hopes of India fielding a team in the men's doubles event at the Tokyo Olympics now depends upon the withdrawals among the teams who have directly qualified.

Rohan Bopanna is ranked 38th and Divij Sharan is ranked 75th, which takes their combined ranking to No. 113 as of June 14.

Sania Mirza will be desperately hoping that the Indian men's team qualifies for the doubles draw. Only players on-site at the Tokyo Olympics can pair up for the mixed doubles event.

That means that if India does not have a team in the men's doubles draw in Tokyo, Mirza will not have a partner for the mixed doubles event, which has often been considered to be India's best hope for a tennis medal.